Click here for the IWGSC Workshop Agenda

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Anthony Hall

Head of Plant Genomics
Earlham Institute, UK

Research Interests
Is interested in evolution in complex genomes. His research group investigates how genetic variation, gene networks, and genome architecture shape adaptive traits (10.1038/s41467-025-64046-1). He is also the co-founder of Trait-seq Ltd, an AI/ML company developing data-driven approaches for trait discovery.

Current Projects
Leads the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Decoding Biodiversity and is a Co-Investigator on the cross-institute BBSRC programme Delivering Sustainable Wheat. He is also supported by ARIA in designing and deploying plant synthetic chromosomes.

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
De Novo Annotation Reveals Transcriptomic Complexity across the Wheat 10+ Genomes

Links
- Bluesky
- LinkedIn
- Lab page

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Vijay Tiwari

Associate Professor
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
University of Maryland, USA

Research Interests
- Genetics and genomics of small grain crops with emphasis on wheat, rye and barley.
- Integrating genomic tools and germplasm development to achieve the goals of sustainable agriculture.
- Identification of novel genes and alleles against abiotic and biotic stresses is a key step to perform genetic improvement of crop plants.
- Identification, transfer, and isolation of important genes and alleles playing vital role against abiotic and biotic stresses in small grain crops
- Molecular understanding of yield and yield contributing factors in bread wheat

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
Title: Genomics-Led Approach to Identify Wuschel-D1 That Enhances Grain Number per Spike in Mov Wheat

Links
- Lab page

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Forrest Conner Wold-McGimsey

Research Associate II
Colorado State University, USA

Research Interests
Combining traditional wheat breeding methods with emerging gene-editing technologies to improve wheat quality traits for Colorado wheat growers.

Current Projects
- Reducing Polyphenol Oxidase Activity in Wheat
- Reducing Asparagine Synthetase Activity in Wheat
- Improving Drought Tolerance and Water Use Efficiency in Wheat

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
Title: Multi-Target Genome Editing Reduces Polyphenol Oxidase Activity in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Grains

Links
- LinkedIn
- Lab Page

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Bipin Neupane

PhD Graduate Research Assistant
Washington State University, USA

Research Interest
- Small grain breeding and genomics

Current Projects
1.    Whole Genome Sequencing, Genome Assembly, and Gene Annotation of Wheat Cultivar “Madsen” & “Pritchett”
2.    Assembling Adaptation - Associated Linkage Blocks for Restoring Population Specific Adaptation on Wheat Varieties
3.    Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Cold-Induced Late Maturity α-Amylase Formation in Barley

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
Title: Genomic Insights into PNW Wheat Diversity from Madsen and Pritchett

Links
- Website
- Lab page 
- Twitter 
- LinkedIn

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Anna Backhaus

Head of the research group "Resources Genetics and Reproduction"
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Germany

Recipient of the 2026 IWGSC-Feuillet Early Career Award - Read her interview here

Research Interests
- Exploring hidden molecular diversity in crop wild relatives and genebank collections.
- Using large-scale wheat sequencing to identify localized diversity patterns.
- Improving precision in genebank accession selection for breeding.
- Developing methods to analyze and interpret large genomic datasets.
- Applying kmer-based genomics approaches to support genebanks and pre-breeding.

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
Title: Genebank subset selection at the haplotype level is possible via advances in kmer genomics

Links
- Research group – Resources Genetics and Reproduction
- LinkedIn
- Twitter 

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Joshua Stein

Project Manager
IWGSC

PAG Talk
Date: Saturday 10 January 2026
Title: Preliminary Results from the IWGSC Wheat Diversity Project